Demountable freight carrier



Jan. 26, 1960 R. E. J. NoRDQUls-r ETAL 2,922,517

DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CARRIER Filed Dec. 10, 1956 lll United States DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CARRIER Application December 10, 1956, Serial No. 627,396

6 Claims. (Cl. 20G-'56) The present invention relates to a demountable freight carrier adapted to be transported by truck or railway to carry fragile articles such as cans or containers made from sheet metal, bre, plastic or other materials and has particular reference to a carrier which protects flange and end seam projections on the cans or containers.

An object of the invention is the provision of a demountable freight carrier which is rigid in construction `and divided by partitions to provide compartments of a predetermined width to compactly accommodate vertical rows of containers stacked in an orderly fashion to permit of an orderly delivery of the containers from the carrier.

, Another object is the provision of such a carrier wherein portions of the carrier are relieved to accommodate in an open space, the flange and end seam projections of the containers so as to especially protect these parts of the containers against distortion and other damage.

Another object is the provision in such a carrier, of spacer members which support the containers in such a manner as to hold their flange and end seam projections away from the sides of the carrierfor protection.

Another object is the provision of such spacer members which retain the partitions in place `in a manner which permits of adjustment of the partitions for different can heights.

Numerous other objects and advantages `of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred ernbodirnent thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of an empty open top carrier embodying the instant invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the carrier shown in Fig. l, the view showing containers in place in the carrier.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate a rigid carrierA A (Figs. l and 2) having its interior space divided by parallel upright partitions li3 spaced apart a distance slightlygreater than the height of cans or containers C to be transported in the carrier. These partitions B set-off in the carrier a plurality of lcompartments D to yreceive the containers lying on their sides and arranged in vertical stacks of one container height or width so as to compactly confine the containers for transportation and to permit of easy delivery of the containers through a door E provided preferably in one end of the carrier. The carrier preferably is open at its top but may be readily provided with a cover when such cover is desirable.

The containers C to be transported in the carrier A usually are empty containers made ready for filling with a product and as such are provided with a projecting end seam G at their bottom ends and a projecting ange H at their upper ends for the securing of a cover to the 2,922,517 Patented Jan. 26, 1960 containers when filled. Provision is made in the carrier to receive these flange and end seam projections in protecting recesses J in the carrier so as to permit of stagger overlapping of the projections in the stacked containers and to protect the projections againstdistortion or other .damage during transportation.

The carrier A ypreferably comprises a rectangular shaped enclosure having at least a horizontal bottom or bottom wall section 11 (Fig. 2), a pair of opposed vertical side walls or wall sections 12, and a pair of opposed vertical end walls or wal-l lsections 13. These bottom, side and end wall sections are made of a rigid material preferably plywood and the outer edges, except the top edges of the side and end walls, are secured in any suitable manner, as by rivets 15, Vin angularly disposed grooves 16 provided in corner connecting bars or members 17. The corner members 17 preferably are made of metal, such as steel, aluminum, brass or the like so as to produce a strong, rigid carrier.

These carriers A preferably are of a size to conveniently t into trailer trucks or railway box cars and have overall dimensions approximately 8 feet high, 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. The top of the enclosure preferably is open although it may be covered if desired. At least one of the end walls 13 adjacent the enclosure bottom 11 isprovided with the full width door E which is hingedly connected to the -end wall. A Vlatch 2l) is provided to keep the door closed during transportation lof the carrier.

The vertical partitions B which v,define the compartments D preferably are made `of plywood and extend the full length of the enclosureV in parallelism with the enclosure side walls 12. These partitions may be secured in place to the end walls 13 and Ibottom 11 but it is preferred` that they be unattached-'so as tobe -free for lateral adjustment to change the, width of the .compartments D to accommodate different heights of cans. Spacer members Z3, 24 are disposed between the partitions B. When the partitions are unattached, the spacer members retain 'them in properly spaced relation. These spacer members 23, 24 may be made from plywood, sheet metal, extruded aluminum or other suitable material. Spacer members of different widths may be provided for containers of different heights.

The spacer members 23preferably are at members which rest on the bottom 1,1v of the enclosure between the partitions and between the partitions and the corner members 17 of the enclosure and are or a thickness Vgreater than the overhang or extension of the container flange and end seam projections H, G beyond the sides of the containers so as to support'the containers with their projections free of and spaced above `the bottom wall 11 of the enclosure.

In a similar manner the spacer members 24 preferably are flat members which lie against or may lbe secured to the end walls 13 betweenthe 4Partitions, B and between the partitions and the corner members 17 and are of la thickness sufcient to hold lthe container-'flange and end seam projections H, 1G away fron-r :the enclosure end Walls 13. Preferably, the edges of the spacer members 23, 2d are provided with the longitudinal `recesses or clearance grooves .l hereiubefore mentioned to clear the container flange and end seam projections. Adjacent the enclosure corner members 17, the spacer mem-bers 23, 24 merely abut against the corner members and therefore need no clearance recesses as shown in Fig. 2. Similarly, each of the side walls 12 preferably are interiorly covered by a liner Sheet 26 which projects inwardly beyond the corner members 17 to maintain the flange and end seam projections of the stacked cans out of engage-y ment with the corner members,

With such a construction of carrier A the ange portions H of the containers are prevented from getting lodged or caught in any of the joints between the enclosure walls and its` partitions and is therebyrprevented from being distorted or otherwise damaged, so that the l it is loaded onto a truck or railway car and transported At the plant, the carrier to the container packing plant.

is unloaded and placed in a tilted or inclined position with its door E lowermost so that when the door is opened the cans will roll out onto a conveyor forconveyance to a suitable place of deposit for use. Skids may be provided on the bottom of the carrier to provide space under the carrier for easy handling.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

l. A protective transporting package of empty cylindrical containers, comprising a bottom wall and angularly disposed pairs of spaced upstanding side and end Walls, a plurality of upstanding partitions extending between the opposed walls of one of said pairs and disposed parallel with the other pair thereof, a plurality of elongated freely movable members on the bottom wall extending parallel with and between said partitions for spacing said partitions apart and from said one pair of opposed walls a distance greater than the height of said containers to define therebetween a plurality of container receiving compartments, said containers having vulnerable circumferential flange and end seam projections thereon disposed in said compartments with the containers stacked in adjoining vertical rowswhile lying on their sides, said partition spacing members having clearance recesses on their opposed longitudinal edges adjacent said partitions for the reception of said circumferential flange `and end seam projections on said containers to protect said vulnerable ilange and end seam projections against damage and to permit staggered overlapping of said projections in the vadjoining vertical rows of stacked single containers.

. 4 4 projections on the opposite ends thereof, comprising a bottom Ywall and angularly disposed pairs of spaced upstanding side and end walls, a plurality of opstanding partitions extending between the opposed walls of one of said pairs and disposed parallel with the other pair thereof, and freely movable means spacing said partitions apart and from said one pair of opposed walls to define therebetween a plurality of compartments respectively holding separate adjoining vertical rows of said containers lying on their sides in stacked formation, said spacing means having grooves thereon at their opposite edges defining clearance recesses in said compartments, said recesses receiving said vulnerable flange and end seam projections on said containers in each vertical row thereof to protect said projections against damage and to permit staggered overlapping'of the projections in the adjoining vertical rows of stacked containers.

4. A protective transporting package of empty cylindrical containers having vulnerable circumferential flange and end seam projections on opposite ends thereof, comprising a bottom wall and angularly disposed opposed pairs of spaced upstanding parallel side and end walls, a plurality of spaced upstanding parallel partitions extending between and loosely connecting said end wall-s and parallel with said side walls, and a plurality of freely movable spacer members spacing said partitions apart and from said side walls to dene therebetween a plurality of parallel elongated compaitments respectively holding separate `adjoining vertical rows of said containers lying on their sides in stacked formation, said spacer members being disposed on said bottom and end walls of the carrier between said partitions, said spacer members on the bottom wall of said carrier supporting said conn' tainers in each of said compartments in axially staggered relation, said spacer members having spaced recesses therein receiving said vulnerable container flange and end seam projections and protectively holding the same out of contact with said bottom wall and said opstanding side and end walls of the carrier.

5. A carrier of the character defined in claim 4 wherein said spacing members extend on said bottom wall the full distance between said partitions and between said partitions and said carrier side walls, and wherein the edges of said spacer members adjacent said partitions and adjacent said parallel side Walls are relieved for the reception of said flange and end seam projections of said containers.

6. A carrier of the character dened in claim 4 wherein said partitions are loosely disposed in said carrier for lateral adjustment to accommodate and compensate for containers of diiferent heights when lying on their sides, and wherein said spacer members retain said partitions in properly spaced relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,464,343 Scherer ..-Aug. 7, 1923 1,673,711 Richeson n June 13, 1928 2,228,775 Morgan Ian. 14, 1941 2,239,827 Pilcher Apr. 29, 1941 2,700,485 Goldberg et a1 Jan. 25, 1955 2,718,326 Le Blanc Sept. 20, 1955 2,783,879 Emery Mar. 5, 1957 

